DEMOLITION DERBY I and II

"Demolition Derby," India ink and Montana BLACK spray paint on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard. One of the cards I sent out for the 2020 August Poetry Postcard Festival.

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"Demolition Derby II," India ink, Montana BLACK spray paint, and iridescent calligraphy ink on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard. Another card for the August Poetry Postcard Festival.

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In the case of both of these cards, the image came before the poem. The first "Demolition Derby" was originally heading in a different direction, but I didn't like how it was turning out, so I added some spray paint. Once I did that, the car came into focus, and details followed. The "monster truck" that emerged reminded me of my father's high school friend who raced in demolition derbies. On a couple of occasions, we got to visit him at the fairgrounds and be down "in the pit" and watch the races. The poem was birthed with those memories in mind.

About two weeks later, I learned that my father's friend had died from COVID-19 after being hospitalized in an out-of-state intensive care unit for a couple of weeks. The second image was a reaction to his death, although I really wasn't quite sure what it was. I just knew that it was another "Demolition Derby" piece. Perhaps it was a smash up on the course. The Wife thought it was an eyeball. (Maybe it was/is.) Anyway, the poem soon arrived, mostly writing itself.

Not only do they stand as memorials of a sort to Fred, however. The addition of the spray paint shifted my thinking about the art I was creating for cards, as well as freed me up to experiment with my process in other ways.

These two cards were a couple of my favorite of the entire month. Partly because they are paired together. Partly because I was a bit looser in my approach to both, in image and word. Partly because the poems and their illustrations worked well together.

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DEMOLITION DERBY

I’m the driver
     and you’re the driver
and there is no driver

dented fenders
     and dragging tailpipe
and flattened tires

yet still we persist
     and still we insist
as metal twists

and our engine
     smokes and flames
and we run and laugh.

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DEMOLITION DERBY II

the ghost teeth
     grit as they did
in real life

when the engine
     stalled and the
flames arose

only then was
     the collision
remembered.

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All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2020 Troy's Work Table Publishing.